Three-quarters of AAI-run airports in the red

India has revealed that the majority of airports owned and managed by state-run Airports Authority of India (AAI) lost money in the 2018 fiscal year.

In response to a parliamentary question, minister of civil aviation Suresh Prabhu says this affected 94 out of the 129 airports under AAI's purview.

He blames the losses on the revenue's failure to cover expenditure. These include airports in Indore, Bhopal and Raipur.

Prabhu adds that AAI has taken steps to enhance aeronautical revenue through increasing tariffs and commercial opportunities.

In a separate response, the aviation ministry says that the development work at Darbhanga and Patna airports in the Northeastern state of Bihar will be completed in June 2019 and October 2022, respectively.

AAI is constructing a new civil enclave at Darbhanga airport, which will have a new 1,400sqm passenger terminal building and will be able to handle up to 200 passengers at peak hour.

Meanwhile, Patna airport will also have a new 65,155sqm terminal building, capable of handling up to 4.5 million passengers annually.